Jobo photoGPS Software Hangs, Java Bugfix

BECAUSE an earlier post of mine scrutinizing the Jobo photoGPS has inched its way toward the top of Google's search results, this blog has become a go-to destination for folks seeking all kinds of info on the photoGPS: the compatibility (or lack thereof) of its Suunto SDF data files, new versions of the software, or the efficacy of the device indoors. Not that I mind; I'm happy to give answers when I have them.

Some Mac users who've installed the recent Java update via OS X's Software Update may have been encountering problems with the Jobo photoGPS software. My own experience was that "photoGPS" would appear in the menubar and the app's icon would appear in the dock, but the app would then hang.

I was contacted earlier today by someone looking into the problem and offering a potential fix. He seemed to think that the updated Java was "now defaulting to running applications in 64-bit mode on 64-bit capable Macs, which is a problem because photoGPS is currently 32-bit only."

There's no officially updated version of the photoGPS software out yet, but Jobo has just sent an e-mail around with the following instructions for resolving the hangs:

For the short term you can fix the problem by yourself by entering the following command in the Terminal window:

defaults write /Applications/photoGPS.app/Contents/Info Java -dict-add JVMArchs i386

If manual commands aren't your thing, there's also a small bugfix Applescript app, which you can download here. That will do the job for you. Please note that neither I nor Jobo accept any responsibility if your computer suddenly explodes on account of this. All I can say is that it worked for me, and the only thing it's instructed to do is write that little line of code so you don't have to.